Animal trap



y 1939- H. A..STILSON ET AL 2,157,222

ANIMAL TRAP Filed April 20, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 9, 1939- H. A.STILSON El AL 2,157,222

ANIMAL TRAP Filed April 20, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 29 Z2 Z5 Z7 Z 3/Patented May 9,1939 2,157,222

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANIMAL TRAP Herbert A. Stilson, Chicago, andRobert H. Sharp,

Marengo, 111.; said Sharp assigno'r to said Stilson ApplicationApril-20, 1935, Serial No. 17,412

17 Claims. (01. 43--81) Our invention relates in general to animalmovement of the trigger in automatically setting traps and in particularto a mouse or rat trap the trap to eliminate the chance of its notpropin which the usual spring actuated jaw may be erly returning to itsseat. released upon movement of the releasing means Other advantages andobjects will be apparent in any one of three directions. In some of itsfrom the following description taken with the aspects it relatesprimarily to self-setting traps, drawings, in which: that is, traps inwhich the jawis automatically Fig. 1 is a plan view of the embodiment ofthe latched when it is moved to the set position. invention chosen forillustration.

In the traps usually employed for catching Fig. 2 is a vertical sectiontaken through the in mice and rats, the release means operates in onlyline 2-2 of Fig. 1. one direction, namely downwardly. The animal Fig. 3is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2,

often removes the bait from such traps without but showing the trap inan intermediate position releasing the trap. In the prior Patent No.during setting. 1,530,918, issued March 24, 1925, was disclosed a Fig. 4is a side elevation of the trap released.

trap which would release upon movement in Fig. 5 is a fragmentary planview illustrating 15 more than one direction, but except for the trapsthe normal operation of the trap by a side pull disclosed in thecopending application, Serial No. on the bait t adl filed N v 1934 (neviatur d Figs. 6, 7 and a are vertical sectional views into Patent No.2,100,926, dated November 30, illustrating an alternative operation ofthe trap 1937), by Herbert A. Stilson. one of the presen by a side pullon the bait treadle, Figs. 7 and 8 20 inventors, no s lfe tr p of hi ypeh being taken respectively along the lines 1--1 of been known, and ifothers have been proposed Fig. 2 and 8-8 of Fig.6. they have all been socomplicated as to 081186 Although this invention may take numerous somedifficulty d irregularity in releasing the forms, only one has beenchosen for illustration.

2 rap. n n addition wo d be so expensive a It comprises an animal traphaving a base Ill structure as to be impractical Even with a with aspring actuated jaw ll pivotally supported feature permitting therelease of the trap in thereon, a jaw locking mechanism and a threemorethan one direction it is still necessary, in way jaw-releasing andbait-holding treadle. order to be practical from a sales standpoint,Quite often a mouse or rat will approach a trap m that the trap be soldat the very low price prevfrom the side and remove the bait therefromalent for devices of this nature on the market without exerting anydownward pressure on the at the present time. treadle. If the treadleresponds only to down- This invention may be considered an improvewardpressure, the trap will not release, and the ment over the priorapplication above named, rat or mouse will not be caught. Thisdifiiculty being even simpler than the form there shown, is overcome byproviding a trap which will re 35 even though retaining the self-settingand multilease upon movement of the treadle downwardly directionalrelease features. or to either side.

The present invention therefore has among its According to theillustrated form of the invenobjects the same objects that wereaccomplished tion the jaw II is pivoted on a pin l2 and is by the priorapplication above named especially actuated by a pair of spring coils 13which are 40 the provisionof an improved, sturdy, inexpensive usuallyformed in one piece as shown. The baitand preferably self-setting animaltrap provided holding and. jaw-release mechanism includes a with athree-way release mechanism as sensitive treadle l4 having abait-holding portion 16 and as ordinary one-way release mechanisms. anintegral trigger support and release portion A further object of thepresent invention is to I! as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2. The45 provide a three-way release mechanism in which bait-holding portion15 comprises a fiat, platethe functions of the two-piece release treadleof like portion at the rear end of the treadle It the prior applicationare performed by a single with a prong l8 for carrying the bait. At thetreadle member thereby effecting economy both center of the treadle Hare formed downwardly in materials and in time of assembly. extendingside walls I9 having elongated pivot 50 An additional object is toprovide means for apertures 2I'through which the pin I2 is passed.positively limiting the movement necessary to The trigger seat l1 formedin the top wall of the release the trigger in a manner to avoidvariatreadle I4 is shaped and located substantially tions due to massproduction. as shown, the construction being clearly shown in Anotherobject is to prevent excess upward Figs. 1 and 2. 55

A trigger 22 (sometimes called a latch in other patents) is pivotallysupported at the front of the trap by a pivot support 23 as shown bestin Fig. 2 and has its rear end resting on the trigger seat of thetreadle II. The trigger 22 preferably has its rear end cut substantiallyas shown in Fig. 2, so that when it is in the set position as shown inFig. 2, it can only overlap the trigger seat I! by the length of theengagement shoulder 24. Thrust shoulder 25 will, if necessary, engagethe edge of the trigger seat i1 and normally prevent further dropping ofthe trigger 22 and the front end of the treadle. This avoids thenecessity of expensive machining and positioning of the parts. The lowerportion of shoulder 28 recedes so that it may never rest on top of theseat I! but will always fall past it. If occasion arises, the recedingpart of the shoulder 25 will engage the V- shaped sides 28 of thetrigger seat to insure centering of the trigger on the trigger seat. Itshould also be noted that the top of the trigger seat slopes downwardlytoward its center for the same purpose. To retain the trigger 22 inapproximately the proper position when it is not resting on the seat l1,guideway 21 is provided, being formed from extensions of the sides l8and preferably including a connecting bridge 28 at its forward end.Between the bridge 28 and the trigger seat l'l an open slot is providedso that the trigger may pass therethrough as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The trigger 22 comprises an elongated shank extending to an enlargedhead 29 having its front end notched to form the operating and pivotinglug 3|, the retaining lug 32, and the latching lug 33. The operating lug3| rests on a strap 34 of the support 23 and is positioned to be struckby the jaw Ii as it is moved to the set" position shown in Figs. 1 and2.

The operation of the trap is very simple. Assuming the trap to be in thereleased position shown in Fig. 4, the Jaw is swung up and over to the"set position. Downward pressure exerted manually on the jaw ll causesthe trigger 22 to pivot to the position shown in Fig. 3. As the rear endof the trigger rises, it raises the front end of the treadle enough sothat the engaging point 25 of the trigger can pass the trigger seat llof the treadle ll. Movement of the jaw Il may be limited by the bridge28 which obstructs the movement of the trigger 22, or it may be limitedsimply by the construction of the pivot post 23. When the parts are inthe position shown in Fig. 3, manual pressure on the jaw ll may bereleased, and the trigger 22 will drop to the position shown in Fig. 2,its engagement point 25 coming to rest on the trigger seat H. The jaw llengages the latching lug 33 and is restrained thereby. The slight thrustwhich is exerted by the Jaw l I on the trigger is transmitted to thetrigger seat H in substantially a radial direction, 1. e. toward the pinl2, so that it has substantially no tendency to rotate the treadle I 4and substantially no opposition to such rotation.

With the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 2, the trap is set and,assuming that bait had previously been placed on the bait-receivingportion ii of the treadle I4, is ready for use. If a rat or mousepresses downwardly on the bait on the baitreceiving portion l8, thepivotal movement of the treadle ll about the pin l2 as an axis draws thetrigger seat I! rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3. The triggerseat II, in other words, slides out from under the engagement portion 25of the trigger 22, thereby releasing the trigger.

As the trigger drops to the position shown in Fig. 4, the lug 33 slidesout from above the jaw II and releases the Jaw which, urged by-thesprings l3, snaps around to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.1, thereby catching the rat.

If the rat, instead of pressing downward on the bait-carrying portion I6of the treadle, merely pulls the bait sideward in an effort to get itoff the treadle, he will swing the treadle in a horizontal plane aboutone of the fulcrum points 38 which comprises the rear end of theaperture 2|. In other words, the fulcrum point 38 on the side of thetreadle H toward which the bait is pulled, being in engagement with thepin I 2 remains in its position while the other side of the treadlemoves rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 6, thus sliding out fromunder the engagement point 25 of the trigger 22, permitting the triggerto drop and release the jaw Ii as previously described.

In the event that the rat pulls the bait and hence the bait-carryingportion l6 of the treadle laterally and upwardly, the trigger 22 islikewise released from the seat l1. Normally the trigger would remain onthe seat with this movement inasmuch as pulling the portion i6 laterallyand upwardly to pivot the treadle simultaneously and substantially aboutboth fulcrum points 36 would cause the seat H to follow the tip 25 ofthe trigger, so to speak, and remain under the same, due to the limiteddownward movement possible for the front end of the treadle. That is,the front end of the treadle would strike the top surface of the baseill with relatively little movement, as can be seen in Fig. 2. However,the cross member or bridge 28 acting on the trigger 22, as shown in Fig.7, limits the upward movement of the trigger while positioned on theseat I! and causes it to slide from said seat upon such movement of thetreadle to thereby release the jaw l I.

To minimize the chances of the rat pulling the bait forwardly toward thepin I2, and to place the bait at the right height, the treadle l4 mayslope steeply downwardly as at 39 toward the baitcarrying portion Hi. Itis of course desired that the trigger 22 be substantially centered withrespect to the trigger seat ii at all times. To accomplish this thebridge 28 is shaped with upwardly and inwardly inclining sides as shownin Fig. 7 so that as the trigger 22 is thrust up against the bridge 28,as shown in Fig. 3, it will automatically slide along the side portionsof the bridge 28 to the center thereof, as shown in Fig. '7. If thebridge is sufilciently low the trigger 22 may be substantially incontact therewith when the trap is set as shown in Fig. 6, but this willnot occur unless the thrust of the shoulder 25 pushes the treadle backso that it settles down to the position shown in Fig. 6. The slopingsides of the bridge 28 will then aid in releasing the trap upon asideward pull on the bait, since, as shown best in Fig. 8, the resultingswinging movement of the treadle [4 will cause the bridge 28 to rideupwardly on the trigger 22, thereby pivoting the treadle H in the sameway as if the rat had pressed downwardly on the bait-receiving portionthereof. This feature may be entirely omitted without afi'ecting thenormal operation of the trap. Of course in any event the side walls ofthe guideway 21 should be far enough apart to permit enough swing of thetreadle to release the trigger.

Although the reaction between the lower portion of shoulder 25 and theV-shaped front edge of the seat I! will usually center the trigger onthe seat, it is preferred that the need for this be minimized by keepingthe trigger from rising This is accomplished by the pivot support 23shown in Fig. 2 with both of the fulcrum points 36 in contact with thepin l2. To give the treadle a bias toward this position it is preferredthat the top 38 of the aperture 2| be inclined downwardly and forwardlyas shown, so that the weight of the treadle will force the treadleforwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2. With the wall 38 in theposition shown, the trap may be tilted with its rear end considerablybelow its forward end and still be set satisfactorily. This is desirablesimply to avoid dimculty on the part of users who do not understand itsoperation. Such a steep position of the wall 38 may make the trapslightly less sensitive as to sideward pull on the bait than if thewalls 38 were substantially horizontal, and although it is believed thatthe trap will be sensitive enough as shown, the wall 38 may be providedat a more nearly horizontal angle if greater sensitivity is desired.

It should be noted that in making the two spring coils l3 from a singlemember, their connecting portion 41 is shaped substantially as shown inFig. 1, thereby pressing on the base ll] of the trap and forming ananchor for the sta-. tionary ends of the spring coils l3. To preventinterference between the treadle l4 and this connecting portion M of thesprings, the sides IQ of the treadle are cut out or recessed as at 42.Likewise the trigger 22 may be provided with a recess 63.

The problem of handling strong traps such as rat traps in displaying,selling and demonstrating them, has always been vexing, since there isconsiderable danger of injury to the demonstrators or customers hands ifthe trap snaps unexpectedly. It should be realized that it is desirablethat the trap be extremely sensitive so that a very slight pressure onthe treadle it or even a jar of the trap as a whole will cause the trapto snap. To overcome this difficulty the present trap or at least anydemonstration model thereof is preferably provided with a snap limitingmeans such as a hook 44 screwed or otherwise secured into the base Hi.In demonstrating the trap the jaw will be caught by the hook 44 when itis released, and will not snap to the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 1. When the trap is to be used, however, the hook 44 will beremoved or simply moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,thus permitting the trap to function in its normal manner.

Although but one embodiment of our invention is herein shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that we are not limited thereby, butlimit our invention only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw pivoted onsaid base, a trigger for releasably holding said jaw in the setposition, and a treadle for releasably retaining said trigger in the jawholding position; said treadle including an elongated bait receivingportion having at one end a trigger seat arranged to engage the tip endof said trigger, a pair of fulcrum points on opposite sides of saidtrigger seat for engaging a relatively fixed fulcrum on said basewhereby movement of the other end of said bait receiving portion of saidtreadle toward either side will swing said treadle about one or theother of said fulcrum points and slide said trigger seat out from undersaid trigger to release said trigger and said jaw, an extension on saidtreadle forming a guideway for confining said trigger to approximatelyits proper lateral position, and means for guiding said trigger moreclosely to its proper lateral position.

2. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and. positioned to engagethe rear end of said trigger, and side walls spaced on opposite sides ofsaid seat and each having an elongated aperture therein for engagingsaid pivot pin; said apertures being shaped with their upper wallssloping downwardly and forwardly to cause said treadle to assume itsforwardmost position with the rear ends of said apertures engaging saidpivot pin.

3. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, and side walls spaced on opposite sides ofsaid seat and each having an elongated aperture therein for engagingsaid pivot pin, said trigger seat comprising walls sloping downwardlytoward its center.

4. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to en age therear end of said trigger, and side walls spaced on opposite sides ofsaid seat and each having an elongated aperture therein for engagingsaid pivot pin, said trigger seat comprising walls sloping downwardlytoward its center and forming a forwardly open V at their front ends,the trigger having a tip and a rearwardly facing shoulder below and inthe front of said tip for engaging the edge of said walls for centeringthe trigger on said seat.

5. An animal trap'including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, side walls spaced on opposite sides of saidseat and each having an elongated aperture therein and normally engagingsaid pivot pin at therearward edge of said aperture, and an extension onsaid treadle forming a guideway for confining said trigger toapproximately its proper lateral position.

6. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, apivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, side walls spaced on opposite sides of saidseat and each having an elongated aperture therein for engaging saidpivot pin, said trigger seat comprising walls sloping downwardly towardits center, and an extension on said treadle forming a guideway forconfining said trigger to approximately its proper lateral position.

7. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidJaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, side walls spaced on opposite sides of saidseat and each having an elongated aperture therein for engaging saidpivot pin, said trigger seat comprising walls sloping downwardly towardits center and forming a forwardly open V at their front ends, thetrigger having a tip and a rearwardly facing shoulder below and in thefront of said tip for engaging the edge of said walls for centering thetrigger on said seat, and an extension on said treadle forming aguideway for confining said trigger to approximately its proper lateralposition.

8. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, side walls spaced on opposite sides of saidseat and each having an elongated aperture therein for engaging saidpivot pin, and an extension on said treadle forming a guideway forconfining said trigger to approximately its proper lateral position,said extension including walls sloping upwardly toward the center ofsaid treadle and located over said trigger to be engaged thereby in itssetting movement to center said trigger with respect to said treadle.

9. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, and an extension on said treadle forming aguideway for confining said trigger to approximately its proper lateralposition, said extension including walls sloping upwardly toward thecenter of said treadle and located over said trigger to be engagedthereby in its setting movement to center said trigger with respect tosaid treadle.

10, An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, and an extension on said treadle forming aguideway for confining said trigger to approximately its proper lateralposition, said extension including a cross member positioned over saidtrigger and at a height with respect to said trigger such that after thetrap is set said cross member may by engagement with said trigger limitthe downward movement of the front end of said treadle.

I 11. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said Jaw in the set position and operable by saidjaw to its holding position, a pivot pin carried by said base, aforwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin and including atrigger seat slightly spaced above said pin and positioned to engage therear end of said trigger, and an extension on said treadle forming aguideway for confining said trigger to approximately its proper lateralposition, said extension including a cross member positioned over saidtrigger and at a height with respect to said trigger such that when thetrap is set said cross member will by engagement with said trigger limitthe downward movement of the front end of said treadle, and said crossmember sloping downwardly from its center whereby a pivotal movement ofsaid treadle about a vertical axis will cause it to pivot about saidpivot pin and release said trigger.

12. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedtrigger for holding said jaw in the set position, a pivot pin carried bysaid base, a forwardly extending treadle pivoted on said pivot pin andincluding a trigger seat slightly spaced vertically from said pin andpositioned to engage the rear end of said trigger, and an extension onsaid treadle, said trigger and treadle extension having portionscoacting along an inclined plane whereby pivoting of the treadle about avertical axis will cause it to pivot about a horizotal axis in adirection to release the trigger.

13. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw pivoted onthe base, and means for releasably holding said jaw including a triggercontrolling the jaw, operated to a jaw-holding position by movement ofthe jaw to the set position, and having a contact surface'thereon, and atreadle having a seat against which the contact surface rests when thetrap is set and movable in a given releasing direction to release thetrigger and trap; said treadle also including a pair of spaced fulcrumpoints both normally bearing removably against a relatively fixedfulcrum on said base at positions in a line approximately perpendicularto the direction of release, whereby a pivoting of said treadle abouteither one. of the fulcrum points in a direction to cause the otherfulcrum point to leave the fulcrum will move the seat generally in thereleasing direction.

14. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw pivoted onthe base, and means for releasably holding said jaw including a triggercontrolling the jaw and having a contact surface thereon, and a treadlehaving a seat against which the contact surface rests when the trap isset and movable in a given releasing direction to release the triggerand trap; said treadle also including a pair of spaced fulcrum pointsboth normally bearing removably against a relatively fixed fulcrum onsaid base at positions in a line approximately perpendicular to thedirection of release, whereby a pivoting of said treadle about eitherone of the fulcrum points in a direction to cause the other fulcrumpoint to leave the fulcrum will move the seat generally in the releasingdirection, and means preventing a simultaneous pivotal movement of thetreadle about an axis through both fulcrum points with a compensatingtendency to keep the seat in engagement with the contact surface.

15. An animal trap including a base, a spring arc-mas actuated Jaw, apivoted tri ger for holding said law in the set position, a pivot membercarried by the base, and a treadle including an inclined surface restingon the pivot, the reaction between the inclined surface and the pivotnormally thrusting the treadle forwardly to a position where it engagesthe trigger to hold it in its holding position, said treadle beingslidable in a rearward direction to release the trigger.

16. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedand rearwardly extending trigger for holding the jaw in set position, apivot pin carried by the base, a treadle carried by the pivot pin andhaving its free end extending rearwardly and including a trigger seatabove the pivot pin engaging the end of the trigger; said treadle beingoperable to release the trigger by a simple pivotal action upon downwardmovement of its free end, including means effective upon no movement ofits free end in either lateral direction for releasing the trigger,having a forwardly elongated aperture for engaging the pivot pin wherebyit may be slid in a rearward direction to release the trigger. and saidtreadle having a downwardly and forwardly inclined surface adapted toengage the underside of the trigger whereby a generally upward movementof the free end of the treadle will release the trigger.

17. An animal trap including a base, a spring actuated jaw, a pivotedand rearwardly extending trigger for holding the jaw in set position, asupport member carried by the base, a treadle carried by the supportmember and having its free end extending rearwardly and including atrigger seat for holding the trigger in its jaw holding position,including means located forwardly of the support member for preventing apivotal movement of the treadle by movement of its rear end in theupward direction, and including a downwardly and forwardly inclinedsurface adapted to engage the underside of the support member upongenerally upward movement of the rear end of the treadle for thrustingthe treadle rearwardly to release the trigger.

HERBERT A. STILSON.

ROBERT E. SHARP.

